Detroit Is a Tale of Two Cities for Businesses

Newly Vibrant Downtown Contrasts with Pockmarked Outer Neighborhoods

DETROIT—For Kirlin Lighting Co., the cost of doing business here includes two teams providing round-the-clock security after someone tried to rip down its aluminum fencing with a truck.

"The cost of crime is very big, but doubling the business tax in 2012 is probably one of the most amazing decisions I have seen City Council and the city of Detroit make," said Jana Kirlin Brownell, chief executive of the century-old...